Starter Freddy Peralta spun six spectacular innings to beat his former club and Yandy Diaz homered in Tampa Bay’s three-run sixth as the Rays beat the New York Mets 6-2 on Tuesday night in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Following a slow start as the Mets scored and notched three hits in the first, Peralta (7-11) settled in, tossing five hitless frames and retiring his last 13 batters. He struck out seven without a walk.
The Rays acquired Peralta from the Mets for three prospects at the trade deadline.
Diaz was 2-for-4 with the homer and a double and scored twice. Junior Caminero had two hits and extended his hitting streak to 15 games. Ryan Vilade (triple, two RBIs) and Nick Fortes (RBI double, run) had two hits apiece.
Victor Mesa Jr. returned from a stint on the injured list for a hamstring ailment and went 3-for-4 with two runs.
The American League East leaders rocked Mets starter Sean Manaea (4-7), who surrendered five runs on 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings. He had two strikeouts and a walk.
Leadoff hitter Francisco Lindor led off the game with a home run and had both RBIs for New York.
Batting left-handed, Lindor greeted his former teammate by lifting a 3-2 curveball to right field for his 15th homer and a 1-0 lead, but the Rays answered with Diaz’s double and Caminero’s single for his 88th RBI.
Shortly after Vilade’s RBI single plated Mesa for the Rays’ first lead, Lindor kept the inning alive with a two-out fielding error that filled the bases. However, Manaea got a flyout from Jorge Mateo to limit the damage in the 2-1 contest.
The home side hit for the cycle and tacked on three runs in the sixth. Chandler Simpson led off with a single, Fortes followed with a run-scoring double and Taylor Walls brought him in with a sacrifice fly.
Diaz, the next batter, lofted a high homer to left for his 21st long ball and a 5-1 lead. Vilade chased Manaea with his three-bagger, but he was stranded.
Lindor trimmed it to 5-2 in the seventh on a bases-full walk, but Tyler Wells retired ensuing hitter Juan Soto on a towering popup to third. Vilade’s fielder’s choice in the eighth drove in the final run.
